Algerian military plane crashes shortly after takeoff, killing 257

ALGIERS, Algeria — A hulking military transport plane crashed just after takeoff Wednesday in the worst aviation disaster in Algeria’s history, killing 257 people and plunging a nation where soldiers are especially esteemed into mourning.

An investigation was immediately ordered to determine the cause of the crash that killed soldiers, their family members and a group of 30 people returning from hospital stays in the capital to refugee camps in the south.

The huge Russian Il-76 crashed about 8 a.m. “just after leaving the tarmac” of the military airport in Boufarik, 20 miles south of Algiers, Maj. Gen. Boualem Madhi told local media. It crashed into a field just outside the base and was enveloped by flames, killing 247 passengers and 10 crew members, the Defense Ministry said.

President Abdelaziz Bouteflika ordered three days of mourning starting immediately and special prayers Friday at mosques across the country.

The flight was headed to Tindouf then Bechar, in the southwest, site of a military base, officials said. Tindouf is home to many refugees from neighboring Western Sahara, a disputed territory annexed by Morocco.

There was no official mention of survivors, but one witness reported seeing some people jump out of the aircraft before it crashed. The Araban-language Algerian TV Dzair said five people were in a critical state but it was unclear if they had been inside the plane.

Several witnesses told Algerian TV network Ennahar they saw flames coming out of one of the planes’ engines just before it took off.

RYAD KRAMDI/GETTY-AFP A rescue team explores the wreckage of an Algerian military transport plane that crashed Wednesday near an air base in Boufarik, killing 247 passengers and 10 crew.